Work carrier for conveyers



Nov. 13, 1951 T. J. KEARNEY 2,575,278

woRR CARRIER RoR coNvRYERs med sept. 24, 194s 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 .j R" @V @VV' @OROOOO 000000r W@ @L i 0 Q Q @Q QQQJ. e e R @s ga H *1- @if l 3L f 30 115 3@ l2 AIR WITNESSES A INVENTOR:

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BY Jzw Nov. 13, 1951 T. J. KEARNEY 2,575,278

woRK CARRIER FOR coNvEyERs Filed sept. 24, 1948 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 WITNESSES E5 INVENTOR: @25,0% Mw@ /wmlfffwfw 045i@ l BY Patented Nov. 13, 1951 woRKiCARmER Fon coNvEYms Thomas J. Kearney; Detrot Mich.,l assi'g'no'- tot Detrex Corporation, D'etroit 1\'Ii`ch:,..a`:` corpora.'-l

tion of `vMichigan Applicationsemmai-ferrara;serialrn; 51:;0117IA oolai'ms: (Cl. 19in-1585i;

@reinvention-relatesclosed'in a cc-pendi'ngpat'ent application- Serial otherwise treating iinished'f machine parts or other' articles with solvents orother liquids; and? in which the carriers are rotated during` submergence so'vthat'the` articles `placed within thenr are more`v effectively' subjected to the action`v ofi the liquids.

Y' In thev cleaning` of' variousA relatively` sinail` metal-articles it` has been recognized' in the artv thatcomplete j cleaning is facilitated' 'by turning andirotating thearticles'to becleancddu'ring"the" rather time of exposure tothe cleaning-liquidl `deviceheretofore` used4 for cleaning roughly` iin'- ishedfpartssthis hasbeen accomplished by 'placingthejpart's in a cylindricalv basket and then` ref--l tatingthe basketduringthe cleaningfcycle. Inv thecajseof machined parts having` smooth` surfcest'his method of "cl'eaningcannotbe employed" since the rotating and tumbling action of loosely*V arranged parts of this sort damages thefinachinedv surfaces oi'a high' Droportion'of'the articles so handled` and, while such damage is-not adestru'ctive factor in the case of roughly. nis'hed parts;r it is serious enough to result. in the rejection. of machinennished parts.

'Therefore the principal object" ofthe present' invention is.. to provide carrier means for 'holding articles tob'e cleaned in; such a way that the carrier may be rotated without attendant marringJ ydefacernent' or'otheridamage toy the surfaces.V

ofthe articles contained therein.

A' further object'v of' the present invention`V to provide a carri-ero` of? the kind' referred to. arranged' for r1naint-ainingseveral' articlesofdferentokinds or Ysizes in definite separation from eachother? notwithstanding..l rotation of the carrier' during" the cleaning treatment.

A still iurth-errobjectof'V theVH present invention is to provide ancarrier of the kindreferred to capable of being quickly loaded and unloaded. and which lends itself to ready and economic fabrication'from parts cut orA otherwise fashioned from structural metal so as-to-be sturdy against-ftowo'rk carriers adapted? todae2 supperted'fon or frombelt or chainconveyl ors, as; for eX-ample';d in apparatus ofthefty'pedis``V Figa Slis-:across section view taken asindlcatedl" byfth'e'i vngle'd"arrows V-V in Fig; 2f; and'l Fig. 6L isf a viewsimilar torFg. 5 showing how the; trayis" inserted into the holder.

Fronrtheseillustraticns it 'will be observedgthatr` imprcvedwork' carrier' includes a holder which is'l comprehensively designated by the numeral IU; and: aA tray which is'similarly designated`by-the-numeral H andwhich'fits intosaid'f 1o holderf'asshown in' Fig. 6'; Although" it'may'be otherwiseconstructsdiY I" prefer" to fashion* the holder f'ffronr structural metal'part's: As shown; theiholder I'f comprises; a horizontal upper cornponent' I`2 withja; frame of* oblong conguration"- I5 liafin'g"right'` angle.` section'A longitudinals I4 and'.

nat-"cross'wisefend' bars4 I 5' welded fast tol the ends` of said"l longitilldinals',- said frame being spanned by a'. weld secured; reticulate diaphragm I 6 ofscreenzor"meshmaterial; Aiixed to the. front 2l) longitudinale" of the" upper component'V of' the holderadjacent'oppositeend's are angle lugsy I1 of a- V"s`haped" cross sectionk which serves as guides during'the insertion ofthetray in a mannerl later on" explain'edl The lower component I3 of the 2'5" holderfis 'sp'jacedin parallel relation to the upper componentI I 2 and in turn comprises a frame which correspondsn' size and vshape to that of" said uppercomponent, and'which has right angley section longitudinals I 8; butV which in additionl 3h to. wel'dattached'end bars I9, has spaced round section intermediate 'transverse bars 2U extend"- ing;betweenr the. tops, of said loingitildinals.V Thevr holder lil is7 completed by! end' plates 2| and 22T(Whereto` the. components i2 and I3 are se:-

35i ciire'd by. screwi bolts 23' with, theK Shanks passing.

throughthe end bars, ofisaidlcomponents. Bro.- jectigoutwardly from'the endpl'ates 2| andlZZ` are trnnnions 2.1L and23 whereby the holder may b'eepvoltally supported. for rotation directly oni` 4'0* thegcon'veyor indtshownl ori inthe endsfof arms-` Afaslin Fig.,.2","hung from. the, conveyor.v The end4 plateVV 22. has@ an upward.' armr extension 25,. with-` roller Zllat. the top. `designed for cooperationwith cam' means. (not-shown) along` the pathgof` the 45 conveyorgto turnfthe holder after the manner.

describedoin,theme-pending application hereinbefrereferredtol.V To the'V front longitudinal.ofi the lower component- I3 or the holder are fixed upwardly yprojecting stops. 23.- w-hich determine 5U" thepositionroi?` thee-tray within-the holder.

Theet'rayl Hf is.likewiseconstrueted-fromA struc tural; metah itsi longitudinal and endwalls and bottom being; integrally' fashioned from a single pieceo'fl screen lormesh material` 30,- whichy latter 55 is reinforced perimetrically; by an' edging;band 31- amieaii-the-fcorners byr angle pieces-32, thesef parts-z being:` united-c. along; thef regions of, mutualfabut@-V ment by welding. Round section cross bars 33 are secured in the like manner to the bottom of 69 the tray Il adjacent its opposite ends. For con tion of as many individual articles whichrmay,

differ in kind or size.

In order to prevent displacement of the tray H within the holder I as the latter is turned on the trunnions, I have provided a retaining latch member in the form of a yoke withside arms 4I pivotally connected by bolts 42 to lugs 43 on the front longitudinal of the lower componentk of the holder. The rear ends of the arms 4| are rst bent upward as at 44 to form upright shoulders for engaging behind the rear edge of the tray after it has been inserted, and then outward and downward on a slope as at 45 for camming action with said tray during its insertion. The yoke is completed by a tie bar 46 which connects and is flush with the outer end portions 45 of the arms 4i. Anchored in bracket lugs 41 pendent from the rear longitudinals I8 of lower component i3 of the holder I0, are upstahding bolts 48 which pass through clearance apertures in the arms 4| of the retaining element 4s, and whichA have heads 49 at their tops to limit the upward movement of said element. Springs surrounding the bolts 48 and in compression between the. arms .I 4l and the lugs 4l tend to yieldingly maintain` the retaining element 40 normally in the horizontal position in which it is shown in Fig. 5.

, To insert the tray Il, it is brought up, either of its long sides forward, and thrust into the interval between the upper and lower components i2 and I3 of the holder l0 as in Fig. 6. Incident` to this operation the angle lugs Il at the rear of the upper component l2 of theholder and the sloped ends 45 of the arms 4l of the retaining element 40 serve by camming action with the tray to guide it and thereby facilitate its insertion as will be readily understood from Fig. 6. Furthermore, by the camming action of the arm ends 45 of the retaining element 40 with` the tray il, said element will be depressed while they tray. .is being inserted. However, when the tray is thrust home in the holder against the stops 29, the retaining element 40 will be suddenly lifted by the springs 50 and the shoulders 44 on its arms engage behind the tray as in Fig. 5. As a consequence, the tray will be positively held against displacement in the holder l0 as the latter is turned on its trunnions 2l and 28. Attention is ldirected to the fact that when the tray l l is in position as in Fig. 5, the upper component l2 of the holder serves as a cover to prevent articles placed in the tray from falling out or from shifting from one of its compartments to another as the holder is turned. To subsequently remove the tray, the retaining element 40 is depressed by pressure of a finger upon its tie bar 46 until the front edge of the tray is cleared likewise in a mannerwhich will be readily understood from Fig. 6.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A work carrier for belt or chain conveyors including a holder with spaced parallel horizontally-arranged upper and lower components, con- 4 the upper and lower components of the holder; stop means on the holder at the front to determine the position of the tray in the holder; and releasable means connected to the bottom component automatically operative as the tray is ith'rust home into the holder to engage behind the rear edge of the tray and thereby prevent its displacement during rotation of said holder on its trunnions.

2. A work carrier according to claim l, wherein the tray is subdivided by partitions into multiple compartments as and for the purpose described.

3. A work carrier according to claim 1, wherein f the upper component of the holder is reticulate,

and the lower component is in the form of an open frame with spaced cross bars whereon the tray is directly supported; and wherein the walls and the bottom of the tray are also reticulate.

4. A work carrier according to claim l, wherein the tray retaining means comprises a downwardly-yielding latch member which is pivotally connected to the front end of the lower component of the holder and normally occupies a horizontal position therein, and which has an upward shoulder at its rear end for engaging behind the tray upon insertion of the latter into the holder.

5. A work carrier according to claim 1, wherein the tray retaining means comprises a downwardly-yielding latch element which is pivotally connected to the front end of the lower component of the holder and normally occupies a horizontal position therein, said element having an upward shoulder at its rear end for engaging behind the tray upon insertion of the latter into the holder, and a forwardly and downwardly.

sloping projection at the top of said shoulder for camming action with the tray during its insertion.

6. A work carrier according to claim 1, wherein the Atray retaining means comprises a downwardly-yielding latch element which is pivotally connected to the front end of the lower cornponent of the holder and normally occupies a horizontal position therein, said element having an upward shoulder at its rear end for engaging behind the tray upon insertion of the latter into the holder, and a forwardly and downwardly sloping projection at the top of said shoulder for camming action with the tray during its insertion; and wherein the upper component of the holder is provided at its front edge with a projection which is sloped counter to the camming projection on the retaining element to cooperate with the latter in guiding the tray into the holder.

THOMAS J. KEARNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Trier et al. Jan. 16, 1945 

